This paper was originally published by the Texas Public Policy Foundation and was coauthored with Talmadge Heflin. The Conservative Texas Budget (CTB), which sets growth limits on state appropriations and spending to no more than population growth plus inflation, has been in place for three regular sessions of the Texas Legislature. Its purpose is to…
Author: Bill
Peace and Purity in the PCA: A Primer for Members
During the eight years that Barack Obama was president, friends and colleagues would often complain about various policies or actions of his administration. While I was usually sympathetic with their angst, I would often respond, “Well, we have no one to blame but ourselves. After all, we (the American people) elected him.” I had a similar response when…
Where Does the PCA Stand on Revoice? A Look at the Numbers
I noted in my previous piece describing the overtures to be considered at at the Presbyertian Church in America’s General Assembly that at the top of the list was how it was going to deal with with the Revoice movement. That certainly turned out to be the case. So I thought I’d do a deep dive…
An Overview of the PCA’s Upcoming General Assembly
Like the culture around it, the Presbyterian Church in America has been facing a fair amount of turmoil for some time now. Some of this usually shows up at the PCA’s General Assembly, the annual gathering of PCA elders (teaching and ruling). This year’s event, coming up this week in Dallas, promises more of the same. Three years…
Fiscal Restraint and Tax Relief is Still Possible in the 86th Texas Legislature
This commentary originally was originally published by the Texas Public Policy Foundation, and was coauthored with Talmadge Heflin. Texas policymakers generally understand that Texans do not want bigger government and higher taxes. So they have gotten pretty good over the years at concealing how much of your money they are spending. The textbook example of…
The Gospel According to Hebrews
In a Bible study I attend, we had a good discussion yesterday on Hebrews 4, which draws parallels between the Israelites in the wilderness, the first Century Hebrew recipients of Hebrews, and even us today. The connection is that TODAY they and we were/are invited to enter into God’s rest. Not just His Sabbath rest…
Anointed with the Oil of Gladness
With the loss of the Vietnam War, Watergate, stagflation, the mainstreaming of drug use, and the Jimmy Carter-led American malaise, the 1970s is not a prime candidate for nostalgic memories. Yet one thing stands out when looking back to that decade; liberals had a sense of humor. Gary Trudeau’s Doonesbury poked fun at everyone–liberals and…
The Bible, Politics, and the Gospel
We have a fair amount of discussion in my church over what the Bible teaches when it comes to government and how to apply God’s Word to particular areas of public policy. During one of those discussions, a friend recently commented, “I reject the notion that someone needs to be a small government conservative to…
Hate is a Christian Virtue
Let me from the start confess to not being very original. I borrowed the concept of the title of this piece from a recent column from Douglas Wilson–though I use it differently. We’ll return to it in a little bit after I work through a couple of things. The first is the White Horse Inn,…
Gimme All Your Money: The Trap of Progressive Liberalism
During its 1980’s resurgence, the Texas band ZZ Top released its Eliminator album, which contained the hit single, Give Me All Your Lovin’. The chorus went like this: Gimme all your lovin’, all your hugs and kisses too,Gimme all your lovin’, don’t let up until we’re through. Reviewing the song’s lyrics as I write this,…